A Vote for Survival
by Mara Greengrass
Summary: Liaden 'verse After the events of I Dare, Miri's got something to say to Val Con. And boy, will he be surprised...


Title: A Vote for Survival  
Fandom: Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - Liaden series  
Author Notes: Poi was my original Yuletide recipient, before the great reshuffling, so I thought I'd write her a fic too.  
Summary: After the events of "I Dare," Miri's got something to say to Val Con. And boy, will he be surprised... 

Amidst the hubbub of getting exiled and arranging to move all of Korval off-planet, Miri found she hadn't had time for a particularly important conversation. But obscurely, she felt it should happen before they lifted off. This was something that needed to happen on Liad first. Or something like that.

All of which explained why she was stalking her own husband through Jelaza Kazone, using all her skills to isolate him from any assistance, whether from Shan or Anthora...or even Jeeves. Fortunately, as half of Korval's delm, nobody questioned her sudden burst of orders and requests.

After a few hours of planning to ensure no interruptions short of a planetary invasion, she stomped into a pleasant wood-furnished parlor, where afternoon light slanting through the window made Val Con's hair look like it had stripes of gold. But Miri was annoyed with him and unable to enjoy the pleasant picture he made in the domestic scene as he looked up from his work.

He'd obviously been concentrating very hard if he'd gotten no sense of her increasingly vile mood. "Cha'trez!" he said, smile lighting his face as he rose from the desk.

"Don't you cha'trez me," she said, stomping over and poking him in the chest. "I got a bone to pick with you, mister. And I'm not gonna be distracted by any funny business."

His lips twitched with amusement. "My time is yours."

Scowling, she poked him again. "These days? No, it's not."

"No, it's not," he said, agreeably.

"Stop that!" She sat down in a padded chair, scowling harder as she sank down into its comfort, obviously intended to improve her mood, which she didn't want.

Val Con sensibly didn't respond to her words or her scowl, sitting down across from her, expression polite and attentive.

Still scowling, she looked for the words she'd rehearsed and, failing, started to resort to invective. But before she could utter the words, she could feel his song soothing hers, and she pushed back at him, not wanting to be soothed.

He sat up straight, obviously startled.

Miri flushed, feeling obscurely in the wrong, but unable to stop herself from stating her case bluntly. "I'm gonna have a baby." His shock felt like a punch to her stomach and she swallowed. "It was the 'doc, put everything back the way it was."

It wasn't the most coherent she'd ever been, but Val Con understood, shock battling with amusement.

"It's not funny," she said.

He sobered. "No, indeed it is not. It is a matter of great seriousness."

"Oh sure, it's serious. It's serious because what am I supposed to do with a baby?" Her voice was rising and she couldn't control it.

"Miri."

"I don't know nothing about babies!" She was almost shrieking now.

"Miri!"

Snapping her mouth shut with a click, Miri took a few deep breaths and ran a Rainbow to relax her tense muscles. Looking Val Con straight in the eyes, she asked, "Did you know? Did you plan this, when we..."

Val Con blinked. "No. I would never do so without your permission. Do you think me a barbarian?"

"No."

"Then grant me the courtesy of thinking before you make such ill assumptions." His voice was sharp.

She looked away. "Sorry," she mumbled.

A sigh. "No, it is I that should be sorry, sorry for everything that has happened to you, including this."

"You didn't know. We both got caught up in the damn Department's business."

His mind touched hers, a shaft of light like that coming through the window. "Would you change the course of events, if you could?"

"No way!" She smacked his arm again. "I'm just...a baby?" The whine in her voice made her wince, but she couldn't help it.

"Millions of women significantly less competent than yourself have achieved motherhood in fine order," Val Con said. "I feel certain you will acquit yourself admirably in the face of this new challenge."

"No, I can't do this!"

Val Con took her hands. "That a day should come when you would admit a lack of ability. I find myself astonished."

She yanked her hands back and batted at his shoulder. "We're not talking about a new gun. It's..." In her utter horror, words failed her.

"It is a child, cha'trez," he said, placing a hand lightly on her stomach, eyes full of wonder. "Our child. A child of Korval, to be born after we reach our new home."

Miri was caught up in his excitement for a moment, holding her breath as she stared into his eyes.

"The next Delm Korval."

"Oh gods," she said, slumping back in the chair. "If there's anything I know less about than babies, it's raising delms."

"Your mother did a fair job, considering her circumstances."

Closing her eyes, Miri tried to think what her mother would say, but could not begin to imagine.

"She could not help but be proud of you." Val Con touched her cheek, but she couldn't look at him yet. "All that you have accomplished through force of will...how can you think such a thing as being a mother might be beyond you?"

"Easy for you to say." She finally managed to open her eyes. "You get to be the daddy."

He laughed. "And a joy that shall be."

"Hmmph."

"And be sure, you will not face this new challenge alone. You will be aided by our family."

"Your family," she muttered, but relented under his frown. "Okay okay, our family. Though what use you think Pat Rin's going to be to me when I'm birthing this sprog, I don't know."

Val Con coughed, suppressing the laughter she could feel in his mind. "I assure you, he shares your horror at the very thought. I believe we can find you others who are more than willing to aid you. Recall please, we of Korval are more than supplied with dramliza and Healers."

"Wonderful." She threw her hands up in the air. "Some captain I am, gonna be planetbound and big as a house."

"I will love and cherish you no less."

Miri felt tears in her eyes and she swiped at them, trying to hold onto her anger. "Damn, I hate being pregnant already. I keep getting weepy."

"I am told that is a hazard of the condition, but one that is temporary." He lay a hand on her stomach again. "But I'm sure we will find much in the coming months to keep you occupied."

"Hmmph," she said again.

"For instance, we must consider the delicate matter of what to name our daughter."

"What?"

Val Con had been staring at her stomach, but he raised his eyes to hers. "Do you mean you cannot feel her pattern joined to ours?"

As soon as he said it, she felt what he meant, like a small dot of light in the corner of the brightness that was their connection. How exactly a dot felt female, she didn't know, but she had to admit that he was right.

"A daughter..." Miri said, barely breathing as she reached out to touch it.

"A daughter," Val Con agreed.

Coming back to the real world, Miri looked at him, a smile finally coming across her face. "The clan increases."

"The clan increases," he said, his smile brilliant in the afternoon sunlight.


End file.
